hysteria

hys·ter·i·a   (hĭ-stěr'ē-ə, -stîr'-)    n.   Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic. A mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability and sometimes by amnesia or a physical deficit, such as paralysis, or a sensory deficit, without an organic cause. [New Latin : hyster(ic) + -ia1.]

hysteria

A complex neurosis in which psychological conflict is turned into physical symptoms, such as amnesia, blindness, and paralysis, that have no underlying physical cause. Early in his career, Sigmund Freud worked on hysteria.

Main Entry: hys·te·ria
Pronunciation: his-'ter-E-&, -'tir-
Function: noun
1 a : a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitabilityand disturbances of the psychic, sensory, vasomotor, and visceral functions without an organic basis b : a similar condition in domestic animals
2 : behaviorexhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess

hysteria hys·ter·i·a (hĭ-stěr'ē-ə, -stēr'-)
n.

1. A neurosis characterized by the presentation of a physical ailment without an organic cause, such as amnesia.

2. Excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear.

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hys·ter'ic (hĭ-stěr'ĭk) or hys·ter'i·cal (hĭ-stěr'ĭ-kəl) adj.